might not make river run

WOW blown up to water tested in only 3 pages nice job.

lake Kerr Super clean lake in Ocala National Forest

Good job, everyone should have a hard date that it needs to be done by so they can get it done like you did.

What's the part number on that K&N?

I've got at least an inch left with the stock arrestor and the the stock 1in spacer, plenty of room in the Excel for just about anything with a SBF.     

Glad it is running so great already, you really did a great job to get it running this fast. Very Nice work and it looks great.
The temp may just be the newness of this engine. A new tight engine will make much more heat than a well seasoned engine. As long as it does not go higher than your current 160 I would be patient for the first 10-20 hours of use.
RPM does not scare me at all once an engine has run 30 minutes or more but heat does. I would keep any hard runs short initially to help it break in without creating any excess heat. I am not afraid to let it go full throttle all the way to red line but I keep it very brief and I don't do that until I verify what my total timing is so no parts get hurt. Total timing is the timing setting once the engine is at or above 3,500. By that point your timing advance should be all in.
Set back Timing lights make checking this very easy. If your initial is at 10 and you know the Ford likes a max of 35 degrees you rev it to 3,500 and hold it there while you check the timing. With a set back timing light you can rotate the dial to 35 degrees and adjust your timing mark to zero. This way you know it will not have too much timing at RPM. Total timing is much more important for survival than initial timing. If you vary the RPM a lot while in the break in process it helps the rings and bearing seat properly.
I would change the oil after the first 10-20 hours max, it is good to get the break in oil out and start again with clean fresh oil.
Sorry if you already know all this stuff, I just hate to see a new engine hurt when it is avoidable.
I hope you get many years of fun out of this build.

Does it need a minimal time with break in oil? Wondering if I should change before or after river run? Has 2hrs on it now.

Minimum time on the break in oil is really only applicable if you are going to switch to a synthetic. if you are going to move to a synthetic then you really should go at least 10 hours before changing.

Still to tight. Only had time for a couple of hrs on it.

My concern was getting it out to early. Going to put a few hours on it this weekend.
At the river.

We changed the oil after 15 hours on a rebuilt engine last summer. I took the filter apart and there was some fine grit in the filter. I couldn't tell if it was metal of dirt. Sounds like that is typical of a new engine?

On classic older engines, the typical routine is to run the break in oil for a hour, drain, refill with a fresh batch of break in oil and then go for the 10 hour run. It's worked for me and many others!